Mechanical stoker.



L F. TOBREY.

MBGHANIGAL STOKER.

APPLIOATION FILED OCT. 181906, 986,877I Patented Mal. ill, 19H.

2 SEETS-SHEBT l.

L. TORREY.

MECHANICAL STOKER. Arrmonlox FILED 00T. 18,1906.

Patented Mar. 14, 1911.

'2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

S Ulu m operating the stoker.

UMTED STATES PATENT OFFICE; l'

LnvI r. Tonner, or inznzriino,l l EW Yoan, iissiiaivoiaJ To MARGARET n. Tonner, or

BIITFALO, new Yoan MECHANICAL s'roxnn.

y Specification of Letters Patent. Patented DIar. 14, 1911. Application led October 18, 1906'. Serial No, 339,433.4

To all whom 'c'.tfmayv concern: i

Be it known that I, LEVI F. Tommy, a

citizen of the United States, residing at- Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented a new and useful lImprovement in Mechanical Stokers, of

which the following is a specification. A

This invention relates to a mechanical Stoker for furnaces and has the. ob'e'et to.

f 2 sheets: Figure l-is a vertical longitudinal section of my improved stoker applied vto a furnace. Fig. 2 is across section thereof in line 2-2 Fig. l. Fi 3 is a fra mentary horizontal section in e 3 3, ig. 2. Fig. It is a vertical section of the motor for Fig. 5 is a vert-ical section. in line 5 5, Fig.' 2, showing the manner of supporting thefuel feeding plunger when the same is removed from the -feed Similar letters ofreference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

A represents 'a furnace provided with theusual horizont-a1 grate bars a and f eed open` ing al through which the fuel is delivered upon the grate. Below the grate bars one or more transverse rock'sli'afts B are arranged each of which carries 'a .pluralityl of stoking members which are adapted to move forwardly and backwardly through the spaces between. the grate bars'. Each of these stoking members preferably consists of an upwardly projecting rock arm C secured to one of the. rock shafts, a stking finger o,

pivoted onl the free end of the stoking arm, and a stop orshoulder o1 arranged on the arm in such a position that'it arrests the 'backward movement of the finger relatively l to the arm when in alistraightened position ter I.v Free access-,to the interior of thev but permits said ngerto fold forwardly relatively to said arn'i. -During the forwardcned pdsition by engagement with the coal,

as showniby full lines in Fig. 1, whereby the latter is pushed forwardlyl on the grate'. During the backward movement of the stoking member its finger is folded'forwardly on the arm by engagement with the coal and remains-in this position until the end of its backward str ke as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1, where y the finger is prevented from pushing the coal backwardly.

The several rock shafts -B are operated simultaneouslvfby means of a horizontal reciprocatin ar D guided lengthwise below thelgrate and provided with ins .d which enter'slotse formed in depen in shifting i'mseE'secured to the rock shaft.

while/ upon moving'the bar backwardly the stokiiigiiiembers are caused to move forwardly-add produce a forwardfeed .of the coal ovj the ate."

F r l horizontallydifront ofthe furnace and opening atftfs/ front end into the furnace feed opeii'i'ig7l G repr'sei''ts a horizontally reciprocating lunger whereby the fuel delivered into4 the ed box vis pushed forwardly out of the same and into the furnace over the grates., The means for 'effecting the reciprocating movement of the plunger shown in the drawings, consists of a horizontal shaft4 g joui'naled transversely at the outer'end of the bottom of the feed box and provided with one or more gear wheels 'or pinions h whiclrengage with'outwardly projecting gear .racks H connected with, the lowerpart of the plunger. Upon rotating the shaft alternately in opposite directions the plunger isrmovcd forwardly and-backwardly in the fireman toobserve the condition ofthe fire in the furnace without removing the plun- L ger, the latten-is providedwith an opening 11 which is normally closed by a' sliding shutvthe same 'by whollywithdrawing the pluiigerfrearwardly from the, feed box and then e'sents-jl/fuel feeding boxarrangedV feed box. For the purpose f enabling thegvngthe saine" laterally so as teclear the v Upon pushing, "this bar-forwardly, the stoking" membersare retracted or moved rearwardly furnaceis afforded for cleaning or repairing I -ioo .MEM

. The plunger` is theiisli'd laterally 'gs'o' that.

' on -the guideway sous to' entire y-`clear the feed box, theA guideway'being maidessufii- .ciently long for this pur ose. -lVliile the.

feed box. During this lateral movement of the plunger the same slides fon a guideway or track which 4preferably consistsjoi an upper horizontal tlatrailor bai' J extending across the upper part of the feed box at the outer or rear end. thereof andprojecting from 'one side thereof and a lower rail or. bar extending laterally froiuthe bottoni-of `the box at the outer or rear end thereof and Von the saine side at the upper rail and hav ing a horizontal lower web 'oi'. flange la' which is fiush with the top of the bottom of the feed boxaiid a front vertical fiange or web clvextending upwardly from the front,`

edge of the horizontal flange, as shown in Figs. 2 'and 5. The Aouter ends of the two rails may be supported by posts or standards K orotherwise.' When it is desiredto re- -niove the: plunger from the feed box ofthe same is rstdrawii 'outwardly 'until its upper edge engage s"withthe upper rail. J.'

its lower end o'r edge is transferredvfroni the bottom ofA the feed boxl to the lower 'angular rail of the ffuidewa-y, as shown iii Fig. 5'.

In this position theplunger niaA beinoved plunger is thus supported y the guideway, the outwardly overhanging gear vvracks on the sanie tend to'tilt'the plunfrer but this is prevented by engagement'ofV the plun er on its outer side ad]acent to its upper en with the 'upper rail'J and at its'inner side adjacent to its lower end with thevertical flange 1:1 of the lower.; rail. The rotation of the shaft g in opposite directions may be effected by various means but preferably by the means s liowi in the' drawings which are constructedas followsz' L represents a. vertically reciprocating gear rack which nieshes with a .gear pliiionl oiil the shaft g. M represents a power cylinder arranged verticalladjaoent to one side of the feed boxan i which is'niounted on the piston rod m1. The latter 'slidesthrough -the upper and lower heads of the cylinder and is connected :it .its .rapper and lower endsbyhorizontal annemif mi; withthe gcar'fracks L. #Steam tern itely into opposite -end's-f of the 'power cyliider for raising and loweringA the viston therein by means of a slide valveill arranged in a valve chest 1i aiid`adapted to connect .the ports o, 01leidiigjg opp0- site ends of the cylinder alfternatelv with the steam supply'pipc 0' and with4 an exhaust port. f in :Ln'ianiier well lfnown in steam engines. The slide' valve' is secured" to a verticallvsliding rod '1 guided in the valve chest and normally held in an elevatedposition by means of a .'ffring p surrounding the valve rod'and interposed between the containing a piston m'.4

l 'lower endsof the valve and theiviige,

lVhile thus elevated the slide valve admits nectcd therewith, outwardly. The downward movement of t-lievalve is effected by means of a trip arin or lever Q, resting upon the -upper -end of the valve'rod and pivoted at one end while its opposite end is provided with af'tri pan q which is adapted to be vfilled slow y and -'-'interinittcntly by water supplied from the pipe Q1. When sufficient wateirhas been delivered into the pan to overcome .the tension of the spring p the trip arm or lever willbe depressed together therewith as4 shown 'in F ig. 4, thereby adinitting steai'n to the upperend of) the c vlinder andcausing the piston to be depressed and the plunger tobe'nioved foru-'ardly or Fig; `1. ','Asytlie triparm lis depressed by' 'the weight of the 'water in' the trip pan the latter is shifted into an inclined position in which-the contents thereof are discharged quicklyl'" Thel instant the trip pan is emptied-"of'water the spring p immediately raises the same and 'the'slide valve into its uppermost position when the filling of the tri panagain proceeds slowly and the ,steam is admitted into'the lower end of the cylinder for movingthe plunger backwardlyl The movement of the piston is also transmitted to the bar D for actuating the stoking members. The meaii's shown iii the drawings suitable for this purpose conone end with .a depending rock arm r having a slot r1 which receives a pin on the geni rack L and a--'rearwardly projecting rock arm at its opposite end having a slot r* which receives a pin 1' at the outer end ot thevshifting bar Dl The rock shaft R and its arms i', 1* thus form an elbow lever which wardly and backwardly simultaneously with the corresponding' movements of the plunfrer. J

o -S represents av feed .hopper arranged endlitothe -top of the box.r Y

dinallyreciproca'ting slide valve or shutter which is guided between the hopper and box tion'be'tweenfthe saine. lVheii the slide -is zinits forward position, as shown in l"i g.'1, the bot-torn of the hopper is'closed and in a condition Ato'.receive :1 -charge of fuel and uponmoving the slide backwZa-rdly so as to Lopen the bottoiirof the 'hopper the chai-gc of fuel thereinl `is delivered-nto the feed box at whichv tiinethe plunger is in its outermost position so that; the fuel Aenters ing the plunger', which is operativelyy conwith the slide valve operatively connected.

sists of a. short rock shaft R provided at' I: ll

'inwardly through the feed box, as shown in opei'atcs ,to -movethe 4stokiiig members for- Aabove the. f eedbox'and' opening at its lower a4 represents a 'horizontally andilongitu- -and operates ,to open o r close communiea- 986,877 j i i3 thefeed box in front of the plunger. The slide is closed and the filling of the hopper with coal is effected while the plunger is in its foremost position. In order to automatically open the slide. as the plunger moves backwardly and' thereby cause the fuel to be discharged from the hopper into the feed box in front of the plunger, means are provided for coupling the slide and plunger which preferably consists of oneor more latches, pawls or dogs T which are pivoted on the slide at the front end thereof and are adapted to assume an inclined position while their front ends engage, with the rca-r side of the plunger, as shown in Fig. 1. Upon moving the plunger outwardly or backwardly while the dogs are in this' position the slide is caused to move in the same direction and thereby open the bottom of 4o I and upwardly projecting lugs u arranged atthe hopper. During the last portion of this backward or outward movement, the 4inclined dogs engage with a stationary abutment and are lifted out of engagement with the plunger leaving the slide free to be again pushed forwardly into its closed position independently ofthe plunger. That part of the upper guide rail or bar J across the upper rear art of the feed box serves as the abutment for thus lifting Ithe dogs of the slide out of engagement from .the plunger.

In order to automatically movevthe slide forwardly and close the hopper the instant the plunger and slide reach their rearmost position and the slide is disconnected from the plunger, a spring operated closing device is provided which preferably consists of two horizontal slide rods U arranged on -the opposite outer sides of the feed box and connected at their rear ends with laterally the rear end of the slide and springs u1 each of which surrounds one of the slide rods and bears at its rear end against a lug .or shoulder u2 on the adjacent part of the feed box and a head or shoulder u. at the front .end of the respective slide rod. During the backward movement of the slide with the plunger the springs u? are compressed and wheuthe slide is released from the plunger at the rear end of the backward movement of flat-stparts the springs 1.1.1 immediately draw the slide forwardly into its closed position, thereby preventing air from entering the furnace through the hoppeuduring .the time that the plunger is in itsretracted osition. The -)Innerer remains at "rest in this retracted position al considerable time but its forward and backward movement a re effected quickly without an interval of rest while inits foremost position. thereby avoiding exposure of the plunger to the heatof the furnace for any considerable time and interposing a new charge of fuel in the feed box between the plunger and the furnace and thus gradually rendering this new I charge of coal in the feed box into the furnace. During the last part of the forward movement of the plunger its upper edge engages with the inclined dogs and lifts the same until the-rear side of the plunger has passed the shoulder or front side of the dogs when the latter drop by gravity inrear of t-he plunger, thereby coupling the slide and plunger and compelling these parts to move baekwardly together during the subsequent' return stroke. u v

lAny suitable means may be provided 'for elevating or conveying the coal or other fuel into the hopper, the lmeans shown in the drawings, as an exampl, being constructed as fol'lbws: V represents an `endless carrying or-conveyer belt havin'ggalternate links constructed to form. 'outwardly opening buckets "o, At its receivin'g and delivery endsthis carrying belt pas; of. sprocket wheels Wr, WV 1,' each .pair being ,mounted upon a shaft fw and' provided with notches 'w1 in their peripheries which are' engage@ by the ends of thepintles or rods V1 `Which pivotally connect adjacent links of the carrying belt. Adjacent to-its ends each pi'ntle of the carrying 'belt is provided withrollers a: which run over upper and lower supporting rails :121, :v2 adjacent to the oper-- ative part-and the lower inoperative part of the carrying belt. 'One end of the shaft which is' connect-'ed with the delivery sprocket Wheels `W1 is provided wit-h a ratchet wheel y and adjacent to the same a 'ratchet arm y1v is mounted loosely on the respective shaft and provided with a pawl 'e 2 which engages with the ratchet wheel. This ratchet arm is rocked or oscillatcd by means of a lilik which is pivotally connected at one end with an upward extension of the gear rack L while its opposite end is adjustahly connected with the ratchetI arm by an adjusting bol t or screw z passing through a longitudinal slot .egiin the ratchet arm. As the buckets of the co-nveyer pass from the lower inoperative to the upper operative part of the belt the fireman fills thebuckets with coalor other fuel. The pistofn duringeach reciprocating movement moves the conveyer forwardly step by step through the medium of the intermediate mechanism which operatively connects theV conveyer with the piston, thereby discharging the contors of the buckets intermittently and successively intolthe top of the hopper. The operating .mechanism of the co'nveyer isso' constructed that the conveyer moves-sfor-2 es around pairs j forth.

-connectedfwith the plunger, a gear pinion ward one step and delivers the vcontents ofv one-of the buckets i'nto'the hoppcrn-'hile the saine is closed by the slide and the plairgcr is effecting its forward movement.

My iniprovei'l stoker contains no delicate parts which are liable to get out of order, .its operation is reliable, eon'iparatively little power is required for o1' erati'ng,the saine' and the coal is manipulated ina manner` calculated to produce the'greatest amount of heal and the least amount of smoke.

I claim as my invention: l. A stolcer comprising a. feed box having an outlet, a plunger reciprocating in said box and-operating to push the fuel from the box through its outlet, and means for actu-'- ating said plunger comprising a gear rack meshing with said rack, a shaftcarrying said pinion, 'a power cylinder, aV piston arranged in the' cylinder, a gear rack'connect-V ed with said piston, and a pinion connected with said shaftand meshing with said last mentioned gear rack, substantially as set 'forth'. y v

2. A stoker comprising a feed box 'liav' ing `an outlet, a plunger reciprocating in sind box and operating to` push the fuel from the box throughits outlet, a power cylinder having a piston operatively connected'with said plunger, af valve constructed to admit a pressure medium alternately into opposite ends of'said cylinder, a movablev trip lpan adapted to be filled withwater and operatively connected with said valve for shifting the saine in one' direction, and means for ,shifting the valve in the opposite direction, substantially as sct forth.

3. A stok'er comprising a feed. box havingan outlet, a plunger reciprocatingr in said box and operatingr to push the fuel from the box through its-outlet, a iower cylinderhavi ng a piston operative y connected -with said plunger, a verticallysliding vulve constructed to admit a pressure medium. alternately into opposite ends of said cylinder, a slide rod connected with said valve, a trip lever bearing against said rod, a trip pan arranged on said lever and adapted. to-be filled with water thereby depressing said rod and shifting the valve in one direct-ion,

and a spring operating to shift said valve.

1n the opposite direction, substantially as set the box at tlie rear ends-of lstantially as setforth.

.4. A stoker comprising a feed box having an outlet, a feed hopper opening into the topof the feed box, a plunger reciprocating Y in the feed box and operating to push the movable in the same directioli as. the. plunfuel from the feed box through itsl outlet, a slide operating to open and close coinniu- .f nication between said hopper and box, and

ger :inda coupling dog pivoted on the slide aifzl adapted to engage with said plunger for vcompelling the same to move backwardly i nication between said hopper and box, and

movable in the same direction as the plunger, a forwardly inclined coupling dog pivoted onthe slide and adapted to engao'e with the plunger for compelling the slide and plunger to move .backwardlytogether, and an abutment arranged to be engaged by said dog during the last part of the backward movement of the slide-and disengage the same from the plunger, substantially as set forth.

'6.' A. Stoker comprising-a feed box having an outlet, a plunger reciprocating'in the box and operating to push the fuel from the same through its outlet, a supply hopper opening into the box, a slide adapted and close communication between the hopper andbox, and movable in the same direction as the plunger and means operating to automatically close said slide independently ofl said plunger, substantially as set forth. 7. A Stoker comprising a feed box having an outlet, a plunger reciprocating in the box andpoperating to ,push the fuel from the same through its outlet, a suppl hopper opening into the box, a slide at apied to open and close'couunnnication between the hopper and box, a dog operatii'ig to couple said plunger and slide and compel them to move backwardly togelher, an abutment arrangedto shift said dog at` the enf1 of the backward inoven'ient. of the plunger and slide so as to disconnect the'saine, and means for auton'iatically moving said slide forwardly when released from said plunger consisting of slide rods arranged lengthwise on 'opposite outer sides of the feed box and connected at their rear ends with the slides, and springs' arranged between shmilders on the rods, sub.-

S. A stoker coniprising a feed box having an outlet, a plunger reciprocating in the box and adapted to pushv the fuel from the box through its ont-let and movable laterally independently of the 'feed box, and a guide Way or track which extends laterally from the rear end of the box and.is mounted' thereon' and upon which the plunger may be inmeil when withdrawn from the rear end of the box, substantially as set. forth.

Si. A stokei' comprising a feed box having an out let. a plunger reciprocating in the box i-:l ad: 'Led to push the fuel-from the box through its outlet and movable laterally into open isc dependently of the feed` box, and a guide Way ort-rack upon which 'the plunger may be moved laterally upon being Withdrawn rearwardly from the box and. which is mounted on the feed box and consists of an upper railarranged across the upper part of the box at the rear end thereof and ex. tending laterally therefrom and a lower rail extendlng laterally'from the lower part of I tiallv as set forth. Witness my hund tomber, 1906.

Witnesses: l THEO. L.

this 28th (lay of Sep- Lnvr F. TORREY.

Por?, E. M. GRAHAM. 

